Container



@et 3U, W23.

P. R. PUCKETT CONTAINER Filed April 5, 1922 2 'sheets-sheet 1 nvewboz Patented @ct 3Q, i923.

STATES PAUL R. PUCKETT, 0F. ATLANTA, GEORG-1A..

CONTAINER.

Application filed .pril 5, 1922.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, PAUL R. PUcxE'rT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Containers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to receptacles and has for one of its objects the provision of a device which is fashioned to serve as a container for merchandise of a certain class, and having additional features of structure associated therewith, to adapt it, after fulfilment of its function as a container of said merchandise, to subsequent uses in connection with articles or merchandise of a different class or character.

More specifically the object of the invention is the construction of a can having a removable cover, said can and cover forming a complete container within which an article of merchandise may be packed, in combination with another element, serving as a filler to occupy surplus space within said container. during the functioning of the latter as a receptacle for said article of merchandise, but being adaptable to other uses after the can has been emptied of its original contents.

A still more specific object of the invention is the provision of a can having removable covers at both ends, primarily functioning as a shipping container, for an article of merchandise, and a series of auxiliary devices selectively cooperable with said can,v

for performing a variety of functions foreign to the original use of the can as a shipping receptacle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of merchandisingwhich involves the sale of an article of merchandise in a container, and the exploitation of said container by distribution at the place of sale of said merchandise, of auxiliary devices cooperable with said container for adapting it to a variety of uses when the article of merchandise has been removed therefrom.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the improved container illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and particularly claimed, and in such variations and modifications thereof as will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my invention relates.

Serial No. 549,698.

ln the drawing accompanying andvforming a part of this specification, and wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container of my invention, a portion thereof being broken away to show the merchandise therein enclosed.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same container emptied of its contents with the top cover removed and a portion of the front broken away to show the interior.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the same container, equipped as a flashlight.

Figure 4t shows two views of a circuit breaker which may be used in the assemblage of elements shown in Figure 3, to form a flash-light.

Figures 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show respectively two forms of funnel shaped reiectors, a screw cover with an opening in the top, a

lass lens, and a circular perforated disk of the same diameter as the container.

Figure 10 represents the lower cover o the container.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the' elements shown in Figures 7 and 8 in assembled relation.

Figure 12 is an obverse view in perspective of the screw cap shown in Figure 7.

lFigure 13 is a diametrical cross sectional view of the perforated disk shown in .Figure 9.

Figure 14 shows the arrangement of parts,

adapted to function as a funnel.

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the container arranged to hold small objects so that they will not readily be spilled.

' Figure 16 is a perspective view of the container arranged to form a dispensing. device for small articles.

Figure 17 is a view of one end of the container with the elements` shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9 assembled thereon to form a dimmed Hash-light.

Figure 18 is a detail view of the lower end of the container with the elements shown in Figures 7 and 9 applied thereto with the rough surface downward forming a buffer for roughening an inner tube.

Figure 19 is a similar view in which the smooth side of the disk shown in Figure 9 is placed outwardly and forming a sifter for spraying insecticides upon plants.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral 1 represents a cylindrical fSO tubular member or casing which may be made of metal, pasteboard or any other suitable substance which is preferably formed with a screw thread pressed in its upper and lower ends as shown at 2 and 3 in Figure 2, for the reception of the screw covers 4 and 5 of which one is provided for each en d. rlhe can, as thus described, is old in the art and no claim is made thereto except in combination with the other novel features which will be hereinafter described. rlhe preferred class of merchandise which is packed in said container is a roll 6 of patching rubber, which is wrapped around a collapsible tube 7 of rubber cement. 1t is of course obvious that any other class of merchandise may be packaged in the'container without conflicting with the spirit and substance of the invention. y

In order to give the container a value apart from that of the goods therein enclosed and thus to enhance the desirability of purchase of the packaged article of merchandise, l have provided means for giving an intrinsic value to the container itself, by adapting it to many uses in the hands of a purchaserafter the merchandise has been removed therefrom, instead of being thrown away as is the usual practice.v These means comprise certain inexpensive attachments which may be packed in the container or which it is contemplated to distribute, gratis, along with the packaged goods at the time of sale, or which may be purchased at a nominal price, preferably at the place n where the said goods are'sold, and by means of which the container may be converted at will, into one or a number of useful articles.

In Figure 1, for instance, will be observed a funnel shaped member S retained in the upper end of the container between the tubular member 1 and the screw cover 4. rlhis member is apertured at'its lower end and screw threaded to fit the base of the small electric bulb of a flash-light, such as is shown at 17 in Figure 3,V and it is preferably bright or polished on the inside, adapting it to use as a reflector. l/Vhen the packaged article is sold this member is in place as shown in Figure 1, and serves as a'spacing element or filler to keep the article of merchandise within said container from excessive longitudinal movement therein. `When the container is empty the member 8 may be used as a funnel by removing the lower screw cover 5 from the. container and by substituting for the closed screw cover 4 at the rtop the screw-cap 9 shown in Figure 7 which has a circular opening in the top surrounded by the flange 10. This flange, cooperating with the upperedge of the tubular inember 1 holds the funnel shaped member 8 in position and permits the pouring of liquids therethrough and through the bottom of the container.

By screwing on the lower cover 5V as shown .in igure 15 a receptacle may be constituted, the funnel shaped member 8 forming a trap-like entrance into which small `objects may be dropped but from which they will not readily be spilled, should the receptacle be overturned. The receptacle shown in Figure 15 may be quickly emptied by removing the lower screw cover 5.

The upper screw cover 4 may if desired be removed from the receptacle as shown in Figure 14 and the funnel shaped member 8 placed against the lower end of the tubular member 1, and held in position by meansy of the open-topped screw-cap 9. rlhis forms a convenient means for filling bottles with liouids or .supplying water to a storage bat-' tery. Y

Should the possessor of one of the containers desire to convert it into a flash-light it is necessary only for him to arrange the funnel shaped member Sand the openedtopped screw-cap 9 at the upper end of the container, and to vprovide a couplev of'flashlight batteries, holding the latter in place by means of one of the metallic strips 11 or 12 shown in Figure 1. @ne of these strips is shown in assembled relation in Figure 3 and includes an angular portion resiliently holding the batteries together, the upper end of said strip making contact Withla light bulb and the angular. portion adapted to coact withthe lower screw cover i5 formingl aswitch by means of which the flashight is illuminated or extinguished by screwing` said cover on or off a portion of a turn. if all the parts shown in Figure 3 are metal, it is obvious that the batteries will be short circuited when the switch is closed, to prevent which' it is necessary thatsome means be provided 1PAor insulating the light bnlbfrom the metallic parts of the container. This' means may take the form of funnel shaped member 13 shownV in Figure 5, which has a packing 'of insulation 14 between the light bulb and funnel shaped member.y ln assembling the package, care will be taken that in all-metal cans the form 13 shall bc provided whilein cans the tubular portion of which is made of pastellO board, the form of funnel-shaped memberV shown in Figure 6, is furnished in which there is no insulation present.

in assembling thc'container and its parts for a flash-light, it is desirable to usea lens such as shown at 15 in Figure 8. This lens 'is placed upon the funnel shaped; member Sti il il serves as an eflicient dimmer for the flashlight, by permitting the radiation of only those rays which find their way through the perforations in the disk 16.

1n Figure 16 is shown the use of the container as a dispenser of small articles in which the funnel shaped member 8 is secured to the lower end thereof and the top portion closed by means of the screw cover 4t. This form of device is convenient for delivering small objects, one at a time, such as matches or metallic parts used about a garage.

Figures 18 and 19 suggest other uses of the container in combination with the perforated disk 16. As will be noted in Figure 1 the perforations in this disk are brought about by punching through the mfetal, the bur which projects from the lower side thereof constituting a rough surface or buffer. This is shown facing outwardly in Figure 18, adapting the container to use as a buffer or roughener for any class of work. In this figure the suggested use is that of roughening an inner tube before applying a cold patch thereto.

Figure 19 shows the use of the. container as a sifter or sieve for dustinginseeticides upon plants or for sifting talcum powder within tire casings. In this arrangement the disk 16 is placed with either smooth or rough surface outwardly and the funnel shaped member 8 is preferably positioned with the small end upward in the lower end of the tubular member 1 so als to control the discharge of powder and avoid waste, or use of an excessive quality thereof.

These are only a few of the uses and combinations which may be worked out with the simple auxiliary devices disclosed in the several figures or. other devices of the same generic character which may be from time to time brought out.

lt will be readily appreciated that the several devices illustrated in Figures e to 9 inclusive are simple in character and can be produced at a nominal cost compared with the cost of the packaged merchandise, and that they can be readily lsupplied to the retailer for gratuitous distribution in sets with each package of merchandise sold, or may be kept on hand.l` to be sold to the user et' the merchandise at a small cost, thus 1putting into operation a novel method of merchandising in which the subsequent value of the container is exploited to such an extent that the desire to possess a container will be a material inducement to the sale of the packaged article.

twill be understood that various changes may be made in the form and relation of parte to suit different requirements of use,

and that they invention, therefore, is not limited to the precise details of construction and arrangement shown.

Having described my invention what l claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters l atent is 1. A container functioning primarily as a shipping receptacle for an article of merchandise, comprising a casing having an open end, and a member detachably fitting said end and normally extending within said casing, functioning as a filler to prevent eX- cessive endwise movement of said article of merchandise, and being adapted to cooperate with said container after the removal of the merchandise therefrom, to adapt said container to additional uses foreign to its primary function as a shipping receptacle.

2. A container functioning primarily as a shipping' receptacle for an article of .merchandise, comprising` a casing having an open end, a plurality of auxiliary devices for said container, each substantially fitting the end of said casing and selectively applicable thereto, singly or in groups, and means engageable with said casing and with said device or group of devices, for clampably holding them' to said tubular member.

3. A container .functioning primarily as a shipping receptacle for an article of merchandise, comprising a tubular member having an open end, a plurality of auxiliary devices for said container, each having substantially the same diameter as said tubular member and selectively applicable to the open end thereof, singly or in groups, and means engageable with said tubular member and with said device or group of devices, for clampably holding them to said tubular member.

L1. A container functioning primarily as a shipping receptacle for an article of merchandise, comprising a tubular member having removable closures at the ends thereand a funnel-shaped centrally apertured member in one end thereof functioning as a filler to prevent excessive endwise movement of said article of merchandise in said container, said funnel-shaped member being adapted to cooperate with said container after removal of said merchandise therefrom, to adapt said container to additional uses foreign to its primary function as a shipping receptacle.

1n testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

W. SMITH, Jr. 

